The Pridelands - The Conspiracy
by Deranged Llama
Summary: This story picks up after The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. It mainly revolves around Sabiti, who is one of Kiara and Kovu's daughters, and Zindika, who is the pride's shamaness after Rafiki dies.


Author's Note: Mufasa, Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kovu are all copyright to Disney. Sabiti, Kibwana, Binti, Kubwa, and Zindika are all my creations. No touchie without my permission.  
  
  
  
The Pridelands: The Conspiracy  
  
  
  
The saffron sun rose, giving life to the land. Its arms of light reached the majestic rock that was placed in the heart of the Pridelands. It was so gigantic that the pride that resided in the lands used a major indentation for a den. Laying down, just barely inside of the rock, was a lioness, and in-between her paws were three newborn cubs. A male was sitting next to her and smiling a smile that was overflowing with pride. Another male padded over to the couple and nuzzled the female.  
  
"Oh, Kiara they are just so beautiful! I'm so proud of you." then he smiled and turned to at the other lion, "Kovu, great job."  
  
"Daddy!" gasped Kiara, in a shocked tone.  
  
"Eheh, sorry.. " the lion apologized.  
  
Two lionesses padded out from a much smaller indentation in the rock that the pride used as birthing chambers.  
  
"Can you believe it Simba? We're grandparents!" exclaimed one of the lionesses.  
  
"Nope, Nala, I definitely can't believe it, especially since we're going to be parents again." said Simba.  
  
Kiara and Kovu looked at each other with surprised expressions on their faces, then looked to Simba and Nala.  
  
"Mom, is that true? You're pregnant?!"  
  
She gave a slight nod and smiled to her daughter, "Yes, we're having another child."  
  
The nearby young teenager piped up, "And it should be due about the time that your little ones are able to go off and play without supervision."  
  
Nala chuckled "You must be excited to have some cubs close to your age, Zindika."  
  
"Yeah, it's going to be great." replied the lioness with an odd smile on her face.  
  
------  
  
The tall grass swayed with every movement the cub made, giving away where he was, so the dark reddish-brown female leapt in and tackled her brother.  
  
"I GOTCHA!"  
  
The creamy colored male screamed, she had frightened him.  
  
"AAHHHHH!!"  
  
The lioness blinked and backed off her brother. "Uh, Kibwana, it's me! Binti!"  
  
Kibwana regained his composure and grinned shakily, "Yeah.. um, I knew that."  
  
"Suuure you did."  
  
"I did! Honest!"  
  
Watching the two, an orange-ish cub with brown bangs sat moping, and talking to herself.  
  
"They never play with me. No one cares what I do. I could die and they wouldn't even notice."  
  
A lioness padded up behind the cub. "Why of course they would notice if you died, Sabiti."  
  
Surprised, Sabiti turned to look at the female. "Oh, it's you. I didn't know anyone else was around"  
  
" 'Oh, it's you ' " mimicked the lioness, "Well, it's nice to see you to."  
  
"Sorry Zindika. I'm just not too happy right now."  
  
"Well, would you like to see something that will cheer you up?"  
  
"Sure, what is it? Some magic tricks?!"  
  
"Oh, dear child, I don't do tricks. Magic is an art, not a trick."  
  
"Whatever, what'cha gunna show me?" the cub offered an evil smile to let Zindika know exactly what she wanted.  
  
"You'll see.. " the lioness chanted a few choice words, concentrating.  
  
All of a sudden a loud scream was heard, and Kibwana came running out of the grass.  
  
"ZINDIKA, YOU GOTTA HELP BINTI!"  
  
As soon as he had come out of the grass, he back in, running to his sister. Zindika, calmly padded after the young prince, then turned around, "Sab, go get your parents."  
  
The cub nodded, although a wicked smile was spread on her muzzle. She turned and ran to get Kiara and Kovu.  
  
When the three arrived to see what happened to Binti, they were astonished at what they saw.  
  
Shakily Kibwana was explaining what happened.  
  
"W-we were p-playing tag a-and she went to go jump over the root and her p- paw got caught in it" he pointed to the upraised root, "and she t-twisted in midair, and then.. the snap.. " he shuddered, "there was this awful snapping noise. Then she screamed, 'n I l-looked and it was like that"  
  
Zindika shook her head, looking at the wounded cub. "I don't think I have any herbs to fix that."  
  
Sabiti looked at her sister. Binti's hind leg was broken, twisted at a horrible angle. The break was so bad that the bone broke clear through her skin. Her entire leg was soaked in blood, and as it dried it matted the fur down. The actual sight of the bone was stomach wrenching to Sabiti, and she had wondered why Zindika caused something that will give Binti more attention.  
  
------  
  
Kiara looked grim, she knew there was nothing that could help her daughter now. There was no possible was to fix an open fracture, they could not force the bone back into the body. A little time has passed since her accident, and Binti developed gangrene on her leg. No matter what Zindika did, it would not go away and it was spreading.  
  
The shamaness approached Kiara and whispered in her ear, "There is absolutely nothing we can do to help. This disease will slowly rot away her body. In the morning I think we to end her suffering."  
  
The mother looked at Zindika and broke down crying, "My poor baby, I can't believe this. It was only a game of tag!"  
  
Offering a sympathetic nuzzle Zindika said, "She shouldn't know about this. No one should. Actually, we should take her now, and do it while she's sleeping so she won't even feel a thing."  
  
Kiara nodded grief stricken, as she picked up the sleeping Binti by the scruff. Zindika padded off to the birthing chambers, and the other lioness followed.  
  
When Kiara set her daughter down, the young cub woke up.  
  
"Huh? Wha? Mom? Where am I?"  
  
Before the mother could speak, Zindika cut in, "You're dreaming, little one."  
  
"I am?"  
  
"Yes, and we're here to bid you farewell."  
  
"Farewell?"  
  
Kiara interrupted, "No! I can't do this."  
  
"Do what, Mommy?"  
  
"This, Princess Binti." said Zindika as she grabbed the cub by her head and twisted it, snapping all of the bones in her neck. She let go of the body and it made a sickening thud as the skull smacked against the stone ground. Kiara's mouth was open in pure shock.  
  
"..What? How could you? Or better yet, how dare you! That was my daughter!" shouted Kiara as she lunged at the shamaness.  
  
Zindika just calmly stepped aside as the lioness flew passed her and into the ground.  
  
"It had to be done, your Highness. Binti was going to die anyway. Her body would have literally rotted right in front of our eyes. The smell of carrion would have filled the air, even though the victim would not have been dead. Even if the spread of the gangrene had stopped, she never could have walked normally, and she would never be able to hunt because of that injury. Now what kind of life is that for a lioness? And it's late, keep your voice down, we wouldn't want to wake anyone, now would we?"  
  
------  
  
Sabiti looked around, and could not find her sister.  
  
"Now where could the little cripple have gone?"  
  
"Well, now that's not a nice way to talk about the dead." said Zindika calmly.  
  
"She's dead?"  
  
"Well, with a little help."  
  
"You killed her?"  
  
"With your mother's concent."  
  
"Wow.. she said you could?"  
  
"Basically."  
  
Kibwana ran up to the two, "Sab! Grandma's giving birth!"  
  
"She is?" questioned Zindika  
  
"Yeah! In the birthing chambers!"  
  
The three ran together to go see, but by the time they got there Nala had already given birth. Once again, there was only one cub in the litter, but this time it was a boy. Kiara padded out and told the others they could go see Nala now. Kibwana and Sabiti were the first to run in, then Simba, then wandered in Zindika.  
  
Nala was laying down, looking proud, and exhausted. A tiny replica of Simba was fast asleep between her paws. Sabiti looked at Nala questioningly.  
  
"What's his name?"  
  
"Kubwa."  
  
-----  
  
Sabiti layed sprawled out on the cool stone floor of the main den, half asleep, when all of a sudden she was head -butted right in the stomach. Jumping up, the lioness growled and cuffed the little hunter rather hard, which caused him to fall.  
  
"Hey! What was that for, you witch?!" yelled Kubwa.  
  
"Watch who you are calling a witch, brat." countered Sabiti.  
  
"I can call you whatever I want. I'm not afraid of you!" said the young cub, puffing out his chest.  
  
"Oh, what a pity. You should be." replied the older one, calmly examining her claws.  
  
A certain darkness had filled Sabiti's voice on that last sentence, Kubwa did not know what she meant by it. What she threatening? Kidding around? The cub felt like he did not need to find out right at that moment so he turned, with his tail between his legs and slinked out of the den. Just as he left, Kibwana padded in, watching as the younger one walked away.  
  
"What did you do to him?" asked Kibwana  
  
"Me? I did nothing.. that boy is so strange sometimes.." answered Sabiti.  
  
Kibwana could do nothing other than just take her word for it. He loved his sister, but had an odd feeling about her, like he didn't trust her. Zindika on the other hand, the prince believed he could trust with all his heart. She always was a closed up lioness, but lately she seemed to take a liking to him, which was a fact that Kibwana was overjoyed at. Apparently the male had grown particularly fond of the shamness.  
  
"What are you thinking about, Kib? .. Is it a girl?" questioned Sabiti, putting a little singsong tone into the word girl.  
  
"Hm? Wha..? Oh.. nothing. What makes you say that?" stuttered Kibwana, breaking from his thoughts of Zindika.  
  
"Oh, just the staring off into space. That weird glint in yer eyes. The fact that you haven't let Zindika out of your sight for the longest time." grinned the lioness.  
  
"What?!" squeaked the male, "Z-Zindika? Psh.. right. Yeah, I sure like her." he made sure he rolled his eyes and talked with a sarcastic tone so his sister would think he was kidding.  
  
"Okay, whatever you say." said Sabiti, rolling her eyes as well.  
  
Just then, the shamaness approached the siblings. She then proceeded to mess up Kibwana's teenage mane.  
  
"Hey, Guy. What's happenin'?"  
  
"Oh.. uh.. nothing much Zin." replied the love-struck lion as he inched closer to the shamaness.  
  
"Say, Kibwana, how about you let me and you sister have some time for a girl to girl chat?"  
  
".. uh, whatever you say, Zindika." Kibwana padded out of the den, then went to go play with his uncle.  
  
"What is it?" inquired Sabiti.  
  
"I have the perfect plan." responded Zindika with a wicked grin plastered on her muzzle.  
  
"Oh? The perfect plan for what?" Sabiti asked.  
  
"Kibwana is indeed you older brother. Which means that you are not heir to the throne for two reasons. Number one, he's a male and number two, he is older." answered the shamaness.  
  
Sabiti sat back on her hunches a thoughtful expression on her face, wondering what Zindika had thought up this time.  
  
"So, my idea is to ..." Zindika continued, but lowered her voice " ... get him out of the way, so to speak."  
  
"Who's going to kill him?"  
  
"Kubwa"  
  
-----  
  
Sabiti, Kibwana, and Kubwa are fully grown. Kibwana had acquired the lanky, outsider frame, and was also not as strong as he should have been. Sabiti grew into the typical pridelander body, and since she enjoyed a "work-out", she was in good health and unusually strong for a lioness. Kubwa grew large and strong, much like his grandfather, Mufasa. Zindika was a healthy adult. Kiara and Kovu had ruled over the Pridelands since Simba and Nala both passed away, Nala from old age and Simba from a disease. Kiara and Kovu were not as young as they use to be, but they were still far from death, but they both grew weary of ruling. So one day there was a gathering of all of the animals in the Pridelands and the monarchs announced that as soon as Kibwana got a mate, they would step down and let their son assume the throne. By now it was apparent as to who Kibwana would ask to be his mate, and by no surprise he asked Zindika. The lioness gladly accepted the proposal and the current rulers stepped down. By now, Sabiti had grown quite bitter, she was still waiting for Zindika to put her plan into action. And one night, it was set into motion.  
  
"Sweetheart... " Zindika whispered into her mate's ear.  
  
" Mm.. wha?" Kibwana replied sleepily.  
  
"I'm hungry. I want an impala. Make Sabiti go hunting." she said.  
  
"But it's in the middle of the night, Zin. She'll kill me for waking her up." complained the king.  
  
"Remember what I told you. I might be pregnant. So if I give birth to a litter of feeble cubs, I'll blame it on you."  
  
"Oh.. right. I had almost forgotten. Okay, I'll go make her hunt for you." Kibwana got up and padded over to the area in the den where his sister usually slept. He prodded her with a paw.  
  
"Hey, Sab.. can you get up, please?" he asked.  
  
Sabiti moaned and turned away from him, muttering in her sleep.  
  
"Sab.. get up." Kibwana said this a bit more forcefully and used his front paws to shake her.  
  
"Huh.. what do you what?" asked a sleepy, yet agravated Sabiti.  
  
"Zin's hungry. Can you get her an impala?"  
  
"What? No way. Make her go get it. I'm tired, I want to sleep"  
  
"Sabiti! This is an order, go hunt for your queen!" his voice had risen to just under a yell, and this last sentence stirred Kubwa from his sleep. The lion did not say anything, he just listened.  
  
"Kibwana! The impala are near the elephant herd, I saw them when I went hunting earlier. You know how dangerous hunting near the elephants is when there are a few new calves in the herd!"  
  
"I don't care. She's hungry. And if she's hungry, she gets food. And you know males do not hunt."  
  
"Why don't you get someone else?! I'm tired and I don't want to hunt near the elephants."  
  
"If you do not get out of here now, you will be in big trouble in the morning. Get Zindika when you return with her impala." ordered Kibwana.  
  
"Ugh. Whatever, your Highness" Sabiti replied with a sarcastic tone as she got up and left the den.  
  
-----  
  
It was now morning, and Kibwana was waking up. As soon as his eyes opened a severly tempermental Zindika started talking.  
  
"Kibwana, I thought you told me Sabiti would get me an impala last night." Zindika said.  
  
"I told her to! I watched her leave." he sat up and looked around the den. Some of the lionesses were awake and some were still asleep, but all were still in the den. All except Sabiti. "Wait a minute, she's not back yet!"  
  
"She's not? Oh my goodness, Kibwana! She's been out there for hours! A hunter like her can catch a meal in no time! Something must have happened to her!" exclaimed a now upset Zindika.  
  
Hearing this, Kubwa padded into the den.  
  
"Kibwana! Something happened to her and it is your fault! She did not want to go last night but you made her!" yelled Kubwa.  
  
"Hold on! We don't know that anything happened to her." said the king.  
  
" ... Oh no." whispered Kubwa. His expression was that of sheer terror.  
  
"What's wrong?!" asked both Zindika and Kibwana.  
  
"I-I saw hyenas running off with something large this morning. I couldn't really see what it was. But now that I think about it.. it had the same coloring as Sabiti!"  
  
Kibwana froze with fear in his eyes and his face.  
  
"I have to go look for her, she's my best friend!" yelled Zindika as she ran out of the den.  
  
-----  
  
Arms of darkness reached across the land as the sun was setting in the savanna. A group of lionesses, accompanied by Kubwa, tiredly made their way up Priderock. Zindika ran over to the lion.  
  
"Did you find anything? Oh please tell me you found something.. " asked the queen.  
  
The large male looked down, his voice soft "No.. I'm sorry. We saw Kibwana's search party also, but they didn't find anything either. All we saw were elephant tracks.."  
  
Zindika closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, her body was moving back and forth, as if she was going to fall, or faint. Kubwa jumped next to her so she could lean on him without falling over.  
  
"She should have been back by now.. she must have died somehow.." Zindika managed to choke out, tears falling from her eyes.  
  
Kubwa frowned, rememering Sabiti and Kibwana's arguement the night before.  
  
"Um, Zindika, there's something I have to tell you.."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, Kibwana and Sabiti got into an arguement last night about her going hunting. She didn't want to go because she had seen the impala near the elephant herd. She was afraid to go hunting so close to the the elephants, especially when there are new calves in the herd.."  
  
Zindika's expression hardened and her body tensed up.  
  
"It's all Kibwana's fault! If he hadn't made her go hunting then she'd still be alive!" her voice was getting louder "Kibwana killed Sabiti! He has no right to rule! A murderer cannot stay on the throne!"  
  
"But, what about you, Zindika? If he steps down then you aren't queen anymore."  
  
"I don't care about me! I want my best friend back, which can't happen because of my mate! As of this moment, I am no longer his. I am ashamed to have called him my love!" Zindika lowered her head and started sobbing, slowly sinking down to the ground.  
  
Kubwa nuzzled Zindika lightly, "We need to get him to step down from the throne.."  
  
"He won't do that.. he's too proud." whispered the lioness.  
  
"Then how can we get him off the throne?" asked Kubwa.  
  
She turned her face away from him and smiled wickedly, "Kill him." replied Zindika.  
  
-----  
  
Kibwana sat back on his haunches, looking discouraged. One of the females in his search party approached him.  
  
"Your Highness, there's no hope. She must have been killed by something. We should head back to Priderock.."  
  
"Take the party and leave. I wish to remain here for a little while longer."  
  
"Yes, Sir." she bowed her head and backed away.  
  
The search party left a few moments later. Kibwana lowered his head, a tear dripped down his face as he spoke to nothing.  
  
"I'm so sorry.. but it wasn't my fault.. if Zindika hadn't asked for you to go hunting you'd still be here. It's her fault. Because of my mate, my only living sister died. I don't know what to do-"  
  
A growl was heard, and Kibwana got up and immediately spun around, coming face to face with an angry Kubwa.  
  
"Don't you EVEN try to blame this on Zindika. It's your fault she's dead! If you hadn't asked her she'd still be here! Imagine what your parents will say when they find out their only son is a murderer. A murderer unfit to have the title of king." said Kubwa.  
  
"What?! This is not my fault! It's her fault! It's all-" Kibwana's sentence was cut off when with a powerful lunge, Kubwa tackled his uncle and pinned him down under his weight.  
  
"No! It's yours! Everyone agrees! It's you.. not your former mate who killed Sabiti!"  
  
"Former mate? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Oh.. oops, I'm so sorry dear Nephew. I let my mouth slip. I was there when Zindika exclaimed that you are no longer her mate. She gave up her queenship because her mate killed her best friend."  
  
Kibwana stared at Kubwa, dumbstruck. He had been struggling slightly under the pin, but now he ceased to move. His expression was one of pain. His eyes began to well up with tears, but he forced them back down.  
  
"Get off me." Kibwana said blankly.  
  
"Why should-"  
  
"Just get off.."  
  
Since Kubwa did not sense any immediate danger, he let the lion up. Kibwana sat up, and he began to tremble. With his head down he spoke softly.  
  
"It was my fault.."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm not worthy of my title.."  
  
Kubwa fell silent at this last statement, he waited to see if Kibwana would say anything more.  
  
".. I killed my two sisters. I let Zindika down. I let my parents down."  
  
"Two sisters?" Kubwa asked.  
  
"Yes. Don't you- oh.. you must have been too young to remember her. Her name was Binti.. she was my best friend. I begged her to play tag with me and she wouldn't.. but then she finally gave in. And we were playing and her leg got caught in a root and she twisted in mid air and it snapped. The bone broke clear through the skin. She developed that rotting disease and she died."  
  
Kubwa appeared to be thinking about something, but then he shook his head took a fighting stance.  
  
"Kibwana, you don't deserve to live! You make me ashamed of you!" yelled Kubwa.  
  
And with that, Kubwa once again lunged at Kibwana. This time his claws were extended. Kibwana not expecting this, fell on to his back as his uncle pushed his weight on him. He tried to block the first blow from Kubwa, but he failed. Kubwa had raised his paw and slammed it down on Kibwana's face, raking his claws down his cheek. Kibwana extended his claws and attempted to swipe at the other lion, but Kubwa used a paw to push Kibwana's arm, meanwhile digging his claws in and scratching Kibwana deeply. Kibwana pulled up his hind legs and pushed them on Kubwa's stomach, trying to throw him off, but Kubwa's weight was too great, so all he accomplished were a few scrapes on his adversary's stomach. Kubwa let out a roar and bent over, latching his jaws on Kibwana's neck. Kubwa had a tight grip on the throat, Kibwana struggled, which only succeeded in getting Kubwa's teeth deeper in his neck. Blood was now begining to cover them both. With a shake of his head, there was a sickening snap as Kubwa broke Kibwana's neck.  
  
Panting hard, Kubwa got off the dead lion and stared down at him. All of a sudden from behind he was tackled. A whirl of teeth and claws made it hard for him to see who is was. Claws dug into Kubwa's face and slid over his eyes, blinding him. A pain filled roar echoed through the Pridelands as Kubwa swung wildly at the air, catching nothing. Laughter started ringing in the lion's ears.  
  
"Oh dear, dear, Uncle. What would your parents say if you were still alive."  
  
Kubwa froze, reconizing that voice.  
  
"Sabiti!" he growled "What is going on?!"  
  
"Well, to me, it looks like Kubwa attacked the king in a jealous rage. He want the throne and the mate his nephew had. But Zindika refused him and he set off to kill the king so he could inheirit the throne and possible the love of a lioness. Since Kubwa believed that his niece had died in a horrible hunting accident, all he needed to do was just kill the king." cackled Sabiti.  
  
"What?! I was avenging your death!" protested Kubwa.  
  
"Well, I know that. You know that. Zindika knows that. And poor Kibwana knew that. But no one else. Sabiti had been walking back to Priderock after she left her hiding place, the elephants stampeded and Sabiti didn't know when it was safe to leave, but then she overheard a conversation between the king and his uncle. Then she witnessed the fight. But soon after the fight Kubwa died from wounds inflicted by Kibwana." explained Sabiti.  
  
"Oh my goodness! You planned this entire thing, didn't you?! Zindika had to of been in on this! It was all a conspiracy for you to gain the throne, wasn't it?!"  
  
"Wow. It took you awhile to figure it out. Too bad no one else will know."  
  
"You wanna bet?" growled Kubwa.  
  
"Sure." replied Sabiti.  
  
Just then, Zindika surprised Kubwa by tackling him from behind. She then rose up on her hind legs, while Kubwa was trying to figure out what was going on, and she slammed her two front paws down on the scratches first made by Kibwana, dug her claws in deeply and sliced down his stomach. He was now mortally wounded, she did a large amount of damage and there was nothing keeping Kubwa's internal organs from falling out if he stood up.  
  
"Wicked.." Kubwa choked out.  
  
"Well, that will teach you to expect the unexpected. Too bad you won't live to learn from your mistake." Zindika said with an evil smile on her face.  
  
-----  
  
It had been three weeks since the deaths of Kubwa and Kibwana, and the saffron sun rose, giving life to the land. Its arms of light reached the majestic rock that was placed in the heart of the Pridelands. Two lionesses sat side by side on the very top of the landmark.  
  
"Wow.. this is all mine." said Sabiti with a hint of awe in her voice.  
  
"Yeah.. I told everyone when you were born that you would be something unexpected." replied Zindika.  
  
"Thanks for all your help, Zin"  
  
"Your welcome, Sab. And if there's anything else I can do for you, just let me know."  
  
"Oh, well there is one little thing... "  
  
"What?"  
  
Sabiti never answered, she just lunged at her friend. Using all of her strength she threw off Zindika's balance, and then pushed off of the lioness and landed back on her feet. But Zindika lost her balance on fell to the bottom of Priderock.  
  
"Two people can't keep a secret unless one is dead." Sabiti said.  
  
  
  
  
  
The End 


End file.
